THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 27, 1996 TAG: 9603270543
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
Self control.
The Hampton Roads Admirals say that is the attribute they must tap into most if they are the dethrone the defending Jack Riley Cup champion Richmond Renegades in the best-of-five playoff series that begins tonight at 7 at the Richmond Coliseum.
``You can play hard, but if you play hard but not smart, you're going to see more things like the third period of last Saturday's game,'' Admirals goalie Darryl Paquette said.
Paquette was referring to the wild final period of the Admirals' 5-2 loss to Richmond in the season finale. In all that night, Hampton Roads was assessed 171 minutes in penalties. As a result of their actions Saturday, they will play tonight without coach John Brophy and players Mike Barrie, Aaron Downey and David St. Pierre. All have been suspended by the league for between one and five games and cannot be replaced on the roster.
Add in the fact that roster addition Victor Gervais is still playing for the Cleveland Lumberjacks of the IHL and the Hampton Roads will have just 12 skaters and two goaltenders on the ice tonight.
Brophy, suspended for two games, isn't even allowed inside the Richmond Coliseum. Al MacIssac will take his place.
``We have to be committed to discipline,'' Paquette said. ``We do that and I believe we can play with anyone five on five. If we'd have stayed out of the box Saturday night, the score still would have been 5-2 - but for us.''
In what is expected to be a tight series between fierce rivals, penalty minutes could make the difference. The teams played 10 times this season, each winning five. In the Admirals' victories, they averaged 43 penalty minutes. In their five losses, they averaged 73.
``They keep coming at you, always pestering, always trying to push you over the limit,'' Admirals defenseman Steve Richards said. ``It obviously worked Saturday night. One of their main things is to sucker you into getting penalties.
``They're a hard-working team, but not among the more skilled teams in the league. In fact, we're better-skilled. But they work hard.''
Admirals forward Rod Taylor, who leads the team with 40 goals, says Hampton Roads needs only to examine last weekend's games against Richmond to see which style of play is more effective. Friday, Hampton Roads fell behind 3-0, then played smart and hard in the second period to roar back for a 5-3 victory. Saturday's game was tied 1-1 after the first period. Richmond scored four goals in the second period, Hampton Roads started swinging in the third.
``The team that showed up for the second period Friday will beat Richmond,'' Taylor said. ``We stay out of the box, play the system, get good chances. The team that played Saturday in the third period has no hope.
``Guys must be willing to take a punch in the mouth, whether it's called a penalty or not. There are no second chances in the playoffs. It's no time for stupid mistakes.''
Taylor says there have been breakdowns in the Admirals' system lately, especially against the Renegades, that have been costly.
``We've got to be better at some of the little things we're not doing,'' he said, ``like getting the puck out of our own zone. Some people are trying to do too much. We have to get it in our heads that sometimes you have to go backward to go forward. Some of these things should have gotten through a long way back. Too many guys want to play for themselves.
``Watch Richmond. They're not out to make something out of nothing. They dump it in and go to work, hammering you. There's got to be an understanding that sometimes you're going to play a shift of nothing but defense. Sometimes, you're going to play all offense. Be prepared to play both ends and to come off the ice feeling good if they haven't scored rather than bad if you haven't scored.''
Brophy, who says, ``My suspension won't make any difference,'' adds that he expects Richmond to come out early tonight and goad his undermanned team into physical and mental mistakes. The trick for the Admirals is to forget the bad blood between the organizations and just play the game.
``They're the best team in the league and we've played them three times in the final six or seven days,'' he said. ``I just don't see them as being better than us.''
Richards agrees.
``We definitely want Richmond,'' he said. ``We're looking forward to this. We've already proven we can beat them. We have to go through them sometime in the playoffs; it might as well be the first week.''
NOTE: Tickets are available for tonight's game. Cost is $13, $10, $9 and $7. The Coliseum box office number is 804-643-7825. Game 2 is Friday night at the Coliseum. Game 3 is Saturday night at Scope. Tickets for that game, all priced at $8, are available at Scope and through TicketMaster outlets. by CNB